Insider 4/6/2010 - Matt Dipietro

The landscape of a miniature painter’s desk is strewn with strange objects and hidden treasures. This week, let us take a journey through my work area in the Privateer Press Studio to see what tools I use and how things are organized.

1. A fully stocked paint rack so I never run out of paint.
2. My display case for storing the newest studio figures and my Legion meanies.
3. Hand-painted color swatches for the Forces of WARMACHINE books.
4. My big book of secrets where I record my various painting lore.
5. Tea and coffee station, so I can start painting early.
6. Headphones! Music! I gotta have music!
7. LSF-150 work lamp. Best painting lamp I’ve ever had.
8. Extra hobby blades attached to lamp so they are never misplaced.
9. My priming box. It literally has 5 mm of caked-on primer from my years at PP.
10. Concept art.
11. Chromatic paints.
12. Earth-tone paints.
13. Metallic paints.
14. Grayscale paints.
15. Brush cup with all types of brushes, including a toothbrush and a stiff-bristled nylon brush.
16. Dirty paint water.
17. Cup of tools, including files, clippers, sanding sticks, tweezers, and brass rod.
18. A box of various glues, including Formula P3 Super Glue and white glue.
19. Hobby knife and surgical blade stabbed into a block of RTV for easy access.
20. Selection of Formula P3 inks and Mixing Medium.
21. Formula P3 Wet Palette.
22. Paper towels.
23. An old towel—handy for protecting your clothes.
24. Dropper bottle/glue bottle de-clogger.
25. Formula P3 Pinvise in convenient desk holster.
26. Six-cup mixing palette.
27. Plastic card dry palette.
28. Selection of brushes currently in use.
29. A padded bin for transporting miniatures to be photographed.
30. My library of WARMACHINE books and magazines for reference.
31. Sand and static grass for basing.
32. Kosher salt for the salt-weathering technique.
33. Baking soda for making snowy bases.
34. Masking tape.
35. Hair dryer to accelerate drying.
36. Brush cleaner for the end of the day.